About us
About iNERDE: Our Story
At iNERDE, we believe that a GREAT organization starts with a GREAT team. That’s why our team is not just a group of people working together, but rather a group of people with the same purpose that trust each other. The name iNERDE (New Education for Radical Development) was chosen with the goal to put the cool back into Nerd.
Our team is composed of both experienced and aspiring scientists, engineers, social scientists, economists, and bankers from Mali, Canada, Togo, USA, and Burkina Faso who all have intensive experience in development and education work, community service, and after school programs from around the world. Being from various backgrounds, team members are well-traveled and understand the miracle of meaningful work. We share the belief that everyone can have a shot at living a “successful life” in a society that provides the necessary resources and opportunities for all.
iNERDE is the product of many years of longing for ways to innovate education in Africa. Growing up and powerlessly witnessing the neglect of science education, one of the most important pillars of development, a group of young people from around Africa and around the world decided to create and develop iNERDE to give African youth the opportunity to discover their potential in STEM fields. We aim for nothing less than to give Africa’s youth the tools that they need to turn their deep aspiration for a bright future into reality.
In the summer of 2014, iNERDE successfully launched its pilot project. This was our first STEM summer camp which hosted 30 fourth and fifth-grade students, in Bamako, Mali, in partnership with a local school, L’École du Progrès. We now have 6 partner schools in Mali and 2 in Senegal. This is just the beginning for iNERDE. We are working to replicate our model throughout Africa. We are putting in place a pipeline of development opportunities which will help iNERDE graduates become inventors, discoverers, innovators, and entrepreneurs and change the landscape of opportunity in both Africa and the world.